Farmar, Bryant help Lakers crush lowly Heat

Jordan Farmar scored 12 of his career-high 24 points in the
fourth quarter to help the Lakers earn their 10th straight win
with Thursday's 106-88 victory over the slumping Miami Heat.

All-Star Kobe Bryant scored 21 points and Pau Gasol and Lamar
Odom had 13 and 11 rebounds apiece for Los Angeles, which is one
win shy from tying its longest winning streak since the 2003-04
campaign.

"We just want to keep it rolling," Lakers coach Phil Jackson
said. "We just want to keep this thing, this energy going in the
right direction."

The Lakers remain atop the loaded Western Conference at 41-17
and need one more victory to tie last season's win total with 24
contests remaining.

"We're really having a fun time playing with one another," said
Bryant, who had eight assists and four steals. "It makes the
season that much more enjoyable."

Miami (10-45) sits on the other side of the spectrum, owning the
NBA's worst record with just two wins over its last 29 outings.

Farmar, who tied his previous career high with 21 points in
Tuesday's win at Portland, connected on 5-of-7 shots in the
fourth quarter - including a 3-pointer from the wing that made
it 91-75 with 5:16 remaining.

"It's funny, I told my dad that I was going to get (my career
high)," Farmar said. "I've been feeling really good, just being
really aggressive. I was joking in a sense, but once the game
started going and I started knocking down some shots I felt I
had an opportunity to do it."

Heat All-Star Dwyane Wade had an off-night, going scoreless in
the first half before finishing with 18 points.

"It's just one of those games in the first half, it didn't even
feel right," Wade said. "I just chalked it up as being one of
those halves and come back the second half and try to be more
aggressive. I haven't had a half like that in a long time, so I
guess I was due for one of those."

The Heat got to within seven points early in the third quarter,
but the Lakers scored the next 10 points to make it 69-52 on
Gasol's short hook with 4:40 remaining.

"We fell back in the beginning of the game and we recovered
somewhat, but we never really got back into the game where they
had to worry or be concerned about making another run or
something," Heat coach Pat Riley said.